Tuesday 8th to Wednesday 9th July 2025
Posted: 10/07/2025 11:37
Tuesday 8th. The Azores anticyclone started to extend over the UK bringing in a warmer airmass and generally blue skies over the Vale of York, but with Cumulus over the higher ground and to the S. Flying wise at Sutton, the result was 29 ATs off runway 24 with 8 flights of over 30 minutes of which 5 were over an hour. Cloudbase rose to around 5,400' asl with average peak thermal climb rates around 4.5 kts and 5 XC's were flown, with Steve Thompson in his Ventus 2bt and Dean Crosby in his LS10t both completing 300 + tasks, but having to contend with blue areas and scrappy thermals below 3,000' asl. Dean's 404 km task took in TPs at Horncastle, Goole NE and Bardney with a bit of a struggle near York on the way home as a weak front approached from the N, while Steve's 303 km involved visiting Torksey Viaduct near Retford, Burn and Gainsborough, Bob Calvert in his Discus 2ct and Bruce Grain in the Discus flew 152 km and 155 km tasks with Bob visiting areas close to Market Weighton, Beverley and Pocklington and Bruce Northallerton and Burn including surviving a sticky patch near Rufforth. The day's land out was by Austin Hartland who landed Astir DPO around 9 km to the NNW of Burn. The other flight of > an hour was by Andreas Rieder/Tor Taverner in K21 KLW, their 1:22 being flown locally,
Wednesday 9th. The Azores anticyclone was now firmly in place, but a weak front brought initial cloud that cleared by late morning, leaving a good soaring afternoon with cloudbase rising to around 5,000' asl and average peak climb rates around 4 kts, although David Latimer in his Ventus 3M had a much stronger climb of 7.4 kts. 19 launches off runway 24, with an occasional landing on 20, was the day's total, one being a self launch and 6 being for First Flight pupils. Soaring flights of over 30 minutes totalled 11, with 5 over an hour and 3 XC's flown, with David's Latimer's 203km around Northallerton, Garforth and Beverley being flown at 108 kph, in spite of a sticky patch near Garforth but helped, by what looked to be from David's trace, use of a convergence on the homeward bound leg near Fridaythorpe. Chris Teagle flew 133 km with TPs at Market Weighton and Wetherby, while Fred Brown in his Ventus 2ct, flew an estimated 103 km with TPs at Northallerton, Linton on Ouse and Boroughbridge. Clive Swain, in his Kestrel 19, flew locally, spending significant proportions of his 5:08 flight first near Boroughbridge and then Topcliffe, taking a cloud climb to 6,500' asl near Easingwold. Club glider flights included Simon Altman's 1:07 in the Discus and Andreas Rieder/Steven Kelleher's 56 minutes in K21 KLW, both flown locally.
This blog describes a snippet of life at the Yorkshire Gliding Club. Why not take a flight and try it yourself, or we can teach you to fly as a full club member.